Beijing Auto's first electric car close to production

Shanghai, October 21 (Gasgoo.com) A top executive of Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC) said on Tuesday that the automaker would complete the R&D of its first-ever pure electric sedan before the end of this month.

"We are currently developing a moderate hybrid for military use, a full hybrid SUV for civilians and a mild hybrid engineering vehicle," said Wang Dazong, general manager of Beijing Auto, at an industry event in Beijing.

He emphasized that the company would probably complete R&D of a pure electric sedan before the end of October.

Wang said that in the nine-month period Beijing Auto has sold 913,878 vehicles, up 48.6 percent from a year earlier. The company is looking to sell 1.2 million vehicles next year with sales revenue hitting 110 billion yuan (US$16 bn).

He also proposed that complete vehicle enterprises should join their efforts to design hybrid vehicle powertrains and set up a common standard to accelerate commercialization of hybrid vehicles in the coming years. Favorable government policies would also help in advancing the industrialization of new energy vehicles.